Floating Among the Stars
by JamieTheMonster
Summary: She had been running for what felt like forever, but that asshole was still following her. She was tiring down despite her stamina. Her heart beat hard in her ears – her entire body shouting at her to stop, you need air, but she couldn't afford to stop. If he got to her, she might get discovered. If she got discovered she would definitely get killed. If she stopped, she died.
1. Chapter 1

A/N: Hey! How are you all doing? I've been working on this fic for a while, and I'm proud to finally release it for you all. If you're a bit confused about what's going on with Anthea, don't worry! It'll all be explained in a chapter or two. Enjoy, dear readers!

Disclaimer: I don't own the Doc or Martha. I own all my oc's and most of the plot, though. The rest of it is the BBC's!

Anthea knew that the ship was being boarded, and that she needed to get out right that second. She could hear the rumble and creak of the pirate ship magno-grabbing onto the airlock. She cursed to herself and broke into a sprint through the cluttered hallway, passing over anything that was unnecessary, which at the moment included everything. Where was Darius? Anthea wouldn't leave without him.

Hot sparks flew into her face, leaving behind angry pink skin, and she stumbled onto her knees as the pirate ship completed attaching to hers. The ship's lighting shut down with a whir and a harsh red glow of the backup systems filled the corridor. She shakily pushed up off of the floor and started into a full blown run across the merchant ship. She had to find Darius and leave. If the pirates found either of them they were definitely dead, and while the Odyssey was a good ship, and a great home, it wasn't worth her life.

An explosion shook through the frame of the ship, knocking her off balance. They had blown the airlock doors. They were _inside her ship._ Anthea's breath picked up and her hands began to tremble. Footsteps sounded on the metal behind her. She looked around her, frantically looking for a way to hide from the intruders. There! A small storage room to her right. She knew it was full of what looked like junk. She could hide in there.

She ducked into the storage room and looked around for a suitable hiding place. The footsteps were getting louder, so she made for the first place she saw - an old dresser she and Darius had picked up on Giovis Two. The rest of the room was scattered with various other things they were planning to sell at the next stop. Advantages of running a traveling thrift shop, she guessed. Good hiding places. She peeked out from behind the dresser and pulled on a jacket from a pile near her. It was too big, but it would cover her back enough so that she could pass as a human. It might just save her life if she didn't mess anything up. She just couldn't use her abilities.

She closed her eyes, took a deep breath, and pulled her knees up under her into a crouch, readying herself to move again if need be. She looked around her and wondered where Darius was. She prayed he was okay. She frowned and wished she could risk using her ability to find him, but that would put herself at risk. She just wanted to find her brother. Her hands continued to shake, so she balled them into fists in a meager attempt to stop it. The ship was in auxiliary power and she could almost feel the darkness laughing at her. It would be hard for the pirates to find their way around, but the long shadows and red lights did little to quell her pounding heart, despite the reassurance that the shadows gave her.

She heard the slide of the door opening behind her, and a clang of boots on the ground - whispered voices in the hall floating in. Footsteps sounded on the metal floor and she braced herself to run. The steps got louder – the pirate was getting closer. Anthea slowed her breath and waited for whoever it was to leave. She could hear them walking around at a quick pace. The man was talking to someone over the radio in a language she couldn't understand, and the words were rushed and loud, at a near scream, the muffled voice on the other end barely getting a chance to speak at all. Whoever this guy was - he was _livid_. If he found her there she didn't stand a chance. Hot tears built up in her eyes and she choked back a sob. She didn't want to die.

The footsteps approached her and she sucked in a breath. "What a load a junk." It seems he spoke English too, but she could barely hear the muttering over her own pounding heartbeat. "What are we supposed to do with this shit?"

 _Crack._

She jumped as a piece of broken wood flew past her hiding spot and hit the wall. She barely held back a gasp and froze where she was. _She didn't want to die._ She felt the tears spill onto her cheeks and the sting in her eyes brought her to a shrieking halt back into reality – back to her self-appointed mission. She needed to find Darius and get to the escape pod before they got hurt by the pirates. Easy enough. Totally. She could do this.

She took a deep breath and worked her way around the corner of the dresser opposite to the pirate. It seemed there was only one in the room with her, and the door wasn't too far away. She could make it if she stayed behind the supplies.

She creeped along the floor on her knees, trying to stay as quiet as possible. Her legs wobbled underneath her, but she used her arm to catch herself before she could make too much noise in her fall. She would just have to crawl.

She reached the pile closest to the door and peeked around it to see that the pirate seemed to be destroying her things looking for valuables. She couldn't help her cringe when she saw him smash open a three hundred year old vase from Raxacoricofallapatorius. That thing was worth 5000 credits!

She shook her head and forced herself to ignore the sound of money going down the drain and positioned herself to run. His back was turned to the door. She could make it. Take a deep breath, focus on your destination and _GO._ She shot up off the floor and into the hall, faintly noticing a shout she heard from behind her. He must've heard the door closing behind her. She took as many turns as she could, keeping track of where she was. This was _her_ ship, and she could outmaneuver anyone on this beast. She could make it to the control room and radio the police, she just had to _keep running_. She still heard the thudding of the pirate's steps behind her, despite her twists. She looked behind her to see that he was still following her. He was only ten meters back. The hell?! Damn it all, he had a blaster on his hip! It looked like it was even the hard light kind. Oh, that would hurt! Those were military grade, damn pirates stealing shit. She turned back to run with renewed motivation. She did _not_ want to get shot with that.

She had been running for what felt like forever, but that asshole was still following her. She was tiring down despite her stamina. Her heart beat hard in her ears – her entire body shouting at her to _stop, you need air_ , but she couldn't afford to stop. If he got to her, she might get discovered. If she got discovered she would definitely get killed. Her legs burned and she wanted desperately to rest, but if she stopped she died.

Black spots started to encroach on her vision, blurring the edges of her sight and forcing her to the ground. She landed hard, slamming her shoulder onto the floor and hitting her head. Damn these pirates for attacking before she could eat breakfast. She stumbled back up and forced herself onward, having leaning against the wall, breath coming in gasps, and she desperately hoped that the turns she took had thrown him off by now– but it hadn't.

but suddenly she felt a horrible _burning_ in her right calf. A scream forced it's way out of her throat and she fell to the ground, sliding a few feet across the hard metal and into the wall. She coughed and then looked up. Above her was the pirate – and Anthea had just been shot. Her fall had given him time to take out his gun.

The man above her had been quick to tie her hands behind her back and drag her through her own damn ship to the dining room, where the pirates had seemed to set up shop. She got tied down to a chair with some rusty old chains, but she was sure she wouldn't be able to get out even if she hadn't been – she was close to passing out from her pain, and all anyone had done for her wound was put an old rag over it. Even if she did make it out of this, she might just bleed to death afterwards. She had been crying the entire time, sobs racking through her body only making it worse.

A fierce-looking blue woman stepped forward and pointed her blaster at Anthea. It was big. Big and likely military like the other one. She had sharp features and a disconcerting smile. Her eyes were the worst part though -a bright, glowing yellow that cast light onto her features. In the dark lighting of the ship, it was eerie and made Anthea want to get as far away from this woman as possible. She spoke with as harsh voice. "Tell us where you keep your credits and big-ticket cargo. If you do that we might just consider letting you live."

Anthea just sobbed in pain and almost doubled over, but her head just ended up rolling forward, unable to move from the chains. When she answers her voice was shaky and barely audible. "O-okay. Please just… don't hurt my brother. I need to know he's safe before I tell you anything." They would find out about her family sooner or later, and she had to get them to leave before that happened.

The woman's eyebrows furrowed but her smile stayed put, her eyes flashing brighter. Anthea had to look away from the light. The woman moved the blaster down, tracing the tip along Anthea's collarbone, and pressed the barrel against her chest. "I wouldn't be worrying about him right now, sweetheart, I really think you should consider my _generous_ offer." She leaned in close and pressed her lips to Anthea's ear, whispering to her almost sensuously. "Because if you don't I'll throw you out of the airlock myself."

Shit! Anthea's eyes frantically searched around the room. There had to be something - _anything_ to get her out of this. The table is bolted to the floor so she couldn't use that, and she couldn't break her chair because it was metal. The best option in her ability seemed to be untying the chain, but they would definitely notice that. She couldn't use her ability either, that would just get her killed… But her mind froze as she saw something in the air vent – or rather _someone_. It was Darius, _her brother_. He held a single finger up to his mouth, telling her to stay quiet. His hair was quite a bit messier than normal and he may have a bruise forming on his cheek, but he was alive and that was what mattered. Darius was okay. It took all of her willpower to hold back a sigh of relief, but the blaster at her chest was well enough a reminder.

She squeezed her eyes shut and looked down and pretended to sob - with a little real sobbing - she knew if she didn't she would look at Darius too much and the pirate's would wonder what she was looking at. She had to take a deep breath to pull herself together enough to speak, but when she did it was barely a whisper. "Go down the corridor on my right side. Go past three more intersections and then turn to left. It'll be the first door on your right." After a moment, she felt the pressure on her chest lift, and she opened her eyes to see the blaster was no longer pointed at her.

A couple of the pirates grinned at each other before sauntering off, talking in that language she didn't understand again. After that only three pirates were left in the room. The blue woman rolled her eyes at them and didn't look as thrilled as the others, despite the fact she was still smiling down at Anthea. "Now, about that brother you menti-"

"Th-the code to the door is echo three zeta acorn fives, I forgot to mention that." Anthea whispered the interruption, but she knew the off-putting smiling pirate had heard her words when her grin lowered slightly. Anthea was pleased, even if she was terrified still, that she had bothered that creepy woman even a little. Despite that, yellow eyes still nodded at the one sitting atop of the table playing with his knife, who then frowned and walked off, muttering something about "dumbass merchants forgetting things." Two pirates were left.

"You're not funny, girlie." She frowned now, her voice growling and her eyes now nearly lighting up the entire room. The woman slammed her blaster onto the table with and audible _thud_ and pulled out a hunting knife. She kneeled down in front of Anthea and pulled harshly on pink hair, forcing the merchant to look her in the eye. She drew her knife gently over Anthea's jaw, down to her neck, but not hard enough to draw blood. Anthea shrunk back as much as she could, sheer terror sweeping through her. Yellow-eyes began to grin again. "You know what? When we find your brother," The blue woman leaned over Anthea menacingly, obscuring everything else from view. She nicked Anthea's ear and smiled wider as the blood trickled down her neck. "Oops." She laughed and walked back to the table to lean against it. The pirate cocked her head to the side and bit her lip. "I'm gonna skin him alive in front of you," Her eyes were dark and bright, and hollow, and full of _glee._ Anthea knew for a fact that she wasn't lying. She stepped forward again with her knife, speaking with each footfall. "And then, I'm going to cut you into pretty, little, screaming, pieces."

A sudden thunk sounded from behind the yellow-eyes, who whipped her head around in shock. Confused, Anthea leaned over to see behind the alien. The other pirate in the room with them was nowhere to be seen. Instead, Darius stood there, his expression murderous. "Don't you fucking _dare_ hurt my sister." The woman just laughed at him as his expression grew darker.

Anthea couldn't see the yellow-eyes' expression from where she was sitting, but she heard her make a pleased sound. "Oh, I would, hotshot." She whipped her blaster from the table, finger on the trigger, but by the time her shot hit the wall Darius had vanished.

Anthea frowned at that. He wouldn't…

He appeared again right behind the woman, and grabbed a fistfull of her hair, yanking her down and sending her into a fall.

She was gone before she could hit the floor - into thin air. The dining room was empty apart from the two siblings. Anthea was relieved, but despite that she gave him a harsh glare. "What are you thinking? You could kill yourself teleporting like that! You can't jump even three meters and now you pull this stunt!" She couldn't believe he would use his power like that - so recklessly.

"I did it to save ya, shorty." He shot her an exasperated look and kneeled down behind her, starting to untie the chain wrapped around her.

"Yeah, I know that but you could have _died_ , dumbass. Your body can't handle the stress of teleportation, Dari, you could have _killed yourself._ "

Instead of reacting to her anger he put his hand over her mouth and froze in place. Anthea took her cue and did the same, listening carefully to the groaning of the ship. She could barely hear the pounding of footsteps. They were far off, but they were getting louder by the second. Darius walked back around to her front and put his hands on her shoulders. "The others are coming back. Probably figured out there aren't any valuables."

"Then finish untying me and we can go." Anthea looked up at him, confused.

His gold eyes met hers and she became even more confused. He looked almost as sad as he had when their father died – but he also had that look he had when he was proud of her, like she was the best thing in the world. It was confusing her. He spoke, and by the sound of his voice she knew he was going to do something stupid. He began to look around the room and grab any weapons they had left behind, including the blue woman's blaster. "No, Anthea. If we're in a pod they'll just shoot us down."

"If we stay we're dead anyway. We need to run." She whispered at him frantically, her eyes wide and pleading. She was starting to panic. The footsteps were getting louder. They were losing time! "Darius, please we need to go! What are you doing?"

He walked back over and ruffled her hair. Just as the pirates ran into the room she realized what Darius was planning to do. "Love you, short stack."

He was going to send her away.

 _And he was going to stay behind._

"Dari, Don't you da-"

But she was _gone_ and she felt like she was being torn apart at the seams, screaming out only for no sound to leave her mouth. She was floating and falling and being pushed torn pulled shredded prodded poked ripped apart and like her body was on fire a _nd_ _oh my god she couldn't breathe help someone_ _ **please.**_

And then she landed on hard concrete. She was on her side and felt like she had gotten trampled on by a horse. Her entire body trembled; she was alone on some planet she didn't know, without her brother. He was still on the ship, and had probably passed out from exhaustion from moving her this far. And she was on a random planet, being a useless sobbing mess on the ground. He had _saved_ her. She just told him she would never be able to forgive herself but he _went and did it anyway_.

She lay there a while, just crying. But after a time, she found that she couldn't cry anymore. It was as if reality had fogged over and she wasn't quite all there. Either way, it was a welcome relief from the pain. She was able to take in a couple of breaths, just trying to keep herself in the calm haze. She... would be okay. She would go to the police and then they would find him. It would be fine, and they would be able to run their shitty family thrift shop again. They had to.

But when she looked up at the sky, it was strange. It was night-time on this planet, and the stars _looked_ like what they should if she was on Earth but they were _wrong_. After all her star mapping she couldn't have gotten this wrong. She knew her way around this sector like the back of her hand. She was _definitely_ on Earth... But the stars - they were… shifted back by three thousand years? How does that work out...

Her eyes widened in shock, and any remnants of her haze vanished. The stars _couldn't_ have all moved at once, so that left… her. She had gone backwards. Despite herself she curled up into a ball and began to cry again. He wasn't supposed to do that _he wasn't supposed to shift time last time he had it put him into cardiac arrest oh god no._

Her brother's power wasn't just over space – it was over _time_ as well.

She didn't know what to do… What could she do to save him _oh no_ _oh god no no no._ Her breathing picked up; she tried to get more air into her lungs but she felt like it just wasn't enough. Her hands started shaking again - worse this time. Oh god _her brother was dead shifting her that far back would have killed him for sure oh god holy shit no no no no._ She couldn't see anything, her vision was all blurry and _oh my god_ she couldn't catch her breath she's gonna pass out any moment now oh _god_ no.

She suddenly felt a hand on her arm and she screamed, jumping up with a start but falling back down again just as quickly as pain shot up her leg. She looked down at it, cringing. It was bleeding worse than it had been before, and just looking at the wound made her feel ten times as dizzy as she already was. She stared at the person who had touched her, probably seeming like a cornered animal. The woman seemed awfully surprised at her, and was staring at the wound on her leg thoughtfully before she made her way up to meet Anthea's frantic gaze.

"Hi, hey - it's alright. My name's Martha. There's no need to worry; I'm a doctor. Are you alright?"


	2. Chapter 2

A/N: Ah! Hello all! Thank you guys so much for following this story, I'm so flattered! Here we meet the Doctor, so exciting! I really love writing this, hope you guys like reading this. We'll learn more about Anthea and her backstory in the chapter after this, so don't worry if it's a bit mysterious. Enjoy! （‐＾▽＾‐）

Chapter Two~

"Hello, my name's Martha." She was awfully surprised to see Anthea on the ground in front of her, and was staring at the wound on her leg thoughtfully. "There's no need to worry; I'm a doctor. Are you alright?"

Anthea didn't know how to respond to that. She was still surprised by the woman's – Martha's – presence there, let alone concern for her safety. She wasn't used to kindness. The markets she frequented, while polite in general, were places where you fended for yourself. Other times she was in situations where she had to actively fight for her own survival, so when Martha asked how she was, she was taken aback.

Her first instinct was to say that she was fine and to shove off – she didn't know Martha's intentions – but she thought a moment, looking at the woman before her, and she choked down that response in favor of logic. She was in a place she wasn't familiar with (late first or early second millennium Earth of all places!). She could only use one of her legs and was bleeding at a rate which she definitely needed help with - and soon. If she didn't accept any help, then how else was she supposed to figure any of this out, or even live? Her immune system wasn't built for this millennium!

"I'm... not so good over here." Anthea began hesitantly, lickign her lips in a futile attempt to keep them from drying, it was _cold_. "Can I ask where I am?" Her voice cracked and was much more rough than it normally was. She had to resist the urge to cough.

Martha smiled at her (one of those concerned smiles her mom used to give her) and nodded at the space traveller. "We're in London. Do you need any help? You seem pretty out of it." Anthea could see her warm eyes dart down to the wound on her leg again before meeting her eyes. She was speaking slow, as if in an attempt to not scare her off. "I can call you an ambulance if you need it."

"No hospitals." Anthea spat out quickly, sa fresh wave of panic rushing over her. If she went to the hospital she was screwed. She was on Earth, and she knew hospitals there had all sorts of IDs and certificates that she needed. She didn't even have any money to pay with! They wouldn't even know what had happened to her, their knowledge of light was too primitive. With what time she was in, they might start asking too many questions about it. Besides, she didn't know what kind of medical tech they had, she might have the blood drained out of her in a foolish attempt to "bring balance" to her bodily fluids... maybe she should just sew up her leg herself. Maybe she could ask for a sewing kit and some kind of liquor. But what would she tell Martha? Oh! "I don't… I don't have any money." She croaked.

"Well I can't just leave you here." The (so called) doctor in front of her frowned and furrowed her brows, obviously thinking. She sighed and gestured to Anthea with her arm, hiking up her bright red purse up onto her shoulder. "I'll help you out. Like I said before, I'm a doctor." Martha approached her slowly and then knelt beside her – on Anthea's bad side – and slipped her arm around her torso, hooking it under her left arm. Despite the pain she was in, Anthea found the contact somewhat comforting. Martha looked at her and smiled reassuringly. "My flat is just a block or two away, think you can make it there if I help you out or do I need to get more help?" Bracing herself, Anthea whispered that she can walk (she thinks), blowing some hair out of her face. She really didn't want to be left alone in the cold nighttime, so though she was still weary of the woman, she agreed. Martha nodded back at her, determination filling her warm brown eyes. "On three." She positioned herself so that she could take most of Anthea's weight, and Anthea moved so that her good foot was underneath her. This was going to suck, she knew it.

The two slowly stood up, and even though they nearly fell down on the way, they made it to a stand. Anthea's eyes closed as she grimaced, breath becoming choppy. Despite barely any weight resting on her injury, her leg burned from the weight underneath it (even if that weight was only her shin and foot). She took a moment to steady herself; instead of pain, she started to focus on her next steps. Martha took small steps beside her, which allowed Anthea to hobble next to her on one leg. It hurt. So much. With each impact a shock wave would crash through her body and she would've collapsed for sure had Martha not been there to keep her standing. She was suddenly much more grateful for the woman's presence.

Martha seemed tired, after what seemed to be hours later to Anthea - in reality it was about fifteen minutes - and she was about to say something about resting, when the woman beside her gave a sigh of relief and smiled, stopping where they were and turning to the blue door of the building beside them. "We're here." She looked at Anthea, who was just waiting for her to go inside. Martha hesitated for a moment, biting her ruby-lacquered bottom lip. "Um, don't worry about my flat mate. He's a bit weird - okay, a lot weird - but he's harmless, really. I promise."

Anthea raised an eyebrow at her, just wanting to get inside and sit down. She didn't really care about weird roommates. "Okay?" Martha nodded, and kicked at the door as what Anthea guessed was some form of knock. Martha's arms shifted around her a bit as she adjusted. She was sure she'd probably seen weirder people than Martha's roommate at the markets she'd set up at, but she _was_ unfamiliar with Pre-Space humans, so she wasn't sure what to expect. The blue door creaked open in a burst to reveal a figure inside.

Well, she wasn't expecting _that_.

Backlit by the room behind him, a man stood there with rather unruly brown hair and a curious expression on his face. What got Anthea, though, was the bundle of wires hanging around his neck like a scarf and what looked like some primitive form of a toaster – that was just a bit taken apart – in the crook of his arm. Basically it looked like her when she worked on the Odyssey's engines. Not quite what she was expecting.

He looked at Martha first, curiosity obvious on his face, then to Anthea leaning against her, and then to the wound on Anthea's leg. "What happened." It wasn't said like a question, more like a demand for information. He immediately opened the door wider, ushering them inside the bright hallway. Martha helped Anthea in and set her down on the small couch that sat inside the sitting room.

Anthea was about to speak up when Martha answered for her, her soft voice suddenly professional and hard. "Bullet wound. I found her on the sidewalk and she seems pretty out of it." By the time she had even finished her sentence the man had ran into some other room and back again, now holding a box in his hands. They were completely ignoring Anthea by this point, something she was thankful for. The last thing she needed was to come up with some convoluted explanation as to how she got there, not knowing what would make sense to them. The man put on a pair of glasses.

"Well, it's a good thing you didn't call a cab, because the temporal distortions around her are phenomenal." He waved his hands around in front of her face and she leaned away from him, kinda creeped out. "It's like fog."

Well, that stopped Anthea's train of thought right where it was. Temporal distortions? Her eyes shot right to meet his, wide in shock. Thousands of thoughts raced through her mind, trying to think of something to say that would make sense, but these people knew about time travel apparently and she didn't know what to believe. Martha looked at him as well from the carpet where she was laying out what seemed to be first aid supplies. "What do you mean? Do you think she was touched by an angel?"

Anthea's internal dialogue screeched to a halt again. Did they know? No, there was no way they could tell she wasn't completely human from just looking at her, she was still wearing the oversized jacket from before. What were they talking about? Damn, they better not know.

The man in front of her looked pointedly at Martha before moving his gaze back to the panicking Anthea. "Well, we should ask her." He moved his arms out cautiously and rested his hands on her shoulders as if he was afraid he would scare her away, seeming to sense her discomfort. He looked her in the eyes and despite desperately wanting to look away, she found she couldn't. This guy was serious. "Look, I know this is scary, and strange, but I need you to tell us – before you came here, were there statues?"

Huh? What the hell did statues have to do with anything? Anthea cocked her head to the side in confusion. "What? No."

The serious look dropped off his face in a second and he flopped back into an armchair across from her. "Oh that's good 'cause judging by your clothing you're from the late 4th millennium and if the angels were still around then we would be in trouble because our entire plan should come to fruition in 2010 or so." At least they didn't suspect she wasn't human, so that's a plus. "So, how did you end up in jolly old 1968? And what happened to your leg? Because that looks like a hard light blaster. Nasty things, they are."

"I'm from the 5th millennium, thanks," She deadpanned. "And as to getting shot – my ship got boarded by pirates." Anthea looked down at Martha, twiddling her thumbs. The dark skinned woman seemed to have pulled out some disinfectant. She was much more comfortable now that she knew these people were time travelers, that technology came around much after practical health care had. At least she knew they weren't going to bleed her.

"What – space pirates?" Martha looked at the man, a smile of disbelief on her face. "Doctor, Is that a real thing?"

He smiled at her and nodded. "Oh, yeah. They're just pirates though, not space pirates. That would be silly. Mean bunch." He looked back to Anthea and shot up off of the couch as if he just remembered something important. "I'm the Doctor by the way," He nodded over to Martha. "She's _a_ doctor, funny enough." He held out his hand. Anthea gave a smile and shook it. She liked this guy.

"It's a pleasure." She looked down at Martha again who had a spread out a variety of medical stuff – including a sewing needle. Anthea gave a face – she didn't like needles, although she was grateful for the help. "Thank you so much for the help. I don't know what I would've done if you hadn't found me."

Martha just gave a wry smile back. "Nah, it's good. I was on my way back from a boring job anyway," She poured some disinfectant on a cloth in her hand and looked up at Anthea. "This is going to hurt a bit, alright? I need to make sure that this won't get infected. Doctor, could you turn on the telly? I think our guest here would appreciate the distraction." Martha looked the space-girl in the eyes and counted down. "Three, two, one."

The cloth hit her skin and Anthea cried out. It wasn't a scream but loud enough that the neighbors probably heard it. It was like someone crammed a knife into her already throbbing wound. She took in a deep breath and tried to focus on the muffled voices from the primitive television set in front of her, but she still closed her eyes and leaned her head back on the sofa. Damn, just as she was getting used to the pain, too.

She could hear Martha's mumbled apologies, but she jumped slightly when she felt a hand on her shoulder. She looked over, just lolling her head to the side. The doctor had sat down on the couch arm and was gently rubbing her shoulder. He looked at her and she saw the sadness in his eyes, as if he knew what this was like. She wouldn't doubt if he did. "It'll be alright. You'll get through this." It was a soft affirmation, but somewhere deep inside her, she knew it was true.


	3. Chapter 3

A/N: Oh my goodness! It wasn't until literally last night that I started writing this chapter, but I finished it! I don't want to get off of my every Saturday schedule, because otherwise I know that I wouldn't post! But I got it out to you guys, even if it did leave me a bit sleep deprived. Enjoy it guys, and as always, R&R!

*Outernet is internet for space. Shhh it's a good name I promise.

Chapter Three

When Anthea woke up the first thing she noticed was a distinct lack of engine noise. After she registered the silence, she opened her eyes with a start, wondering if Darius had needed to turn it off for maintenance - which would be weird because they shouldn't have to for at least another month.

Wait a minute.

She sighed and pinched the bridge of her nose in frustration as the events of the previous day came back to her. After Martha had finished treating her wounds, she had eaten some oatmeal and promptly fell asleep on the sofa, exhausted more than she was wary. They hadn't pressed her any more than they already had, simply making idle conversation about what this century was like. She had gone back so far; she didn't even know where to begin. What would she do if they didn't help her get back to her own time. She supposes she could be a mechanic, but the engines are so primitive she wouldn't even know where to start.

She hadn't had time to think about it before, but she figured she should leave this flat as soon as she possibly could. She had no idea how the time travelers would take figuring out what she was, and she couldn't risk being found out. That would delay her plan to get back to Darius for sure.

Her eyes opened slowly to the quaint living room she had slept in. Dim morning light filtered through the thin pink shades and cast a pale glow throughout the room. She had to admit - despite spending her life on a ship in the darkness of deep space - nothing quite compared to the light of a star. Each one was different, and while she loved the lovely warm glow of Sol, her favorite star was the blue giant of the Strada system. She had been through there several times to trade for the rare fossils found on its innermost planet, and every time she saw the star take up a majority of the sky, filling the world with blue rays almost all day.

But... Reminiscing about a star system a billion light years away wouldn't do her any good. Her top priority was recovery from her leg wound, and then leaving. If they were time travelers then they would probably have a vortex manipulator she could steal. However, for now she allowed herself to rest. She would be of no help to anyone if she was injured. She took in a breath, surprised to smell something sweet baking somewhere to her left. She even registered the sound of feet coming down stairs, and then Martha appeared in the doorway one her right with a small pile of clothes in her hands. The woman smiled at her warmly and handed them to her.

"Figured you could use some clothes that fit in more with this time period. God knows I did when I first got here. I was wearing jeans!" She smiled and Anthea blushed just slightly, looking down at the floor, a bit flustered by the pretty doctor now that she could focus more clearly. She didn't see many people on the ship, so pretty much anyone could make her blush now. It was kind of embarrassing. Although, she supposed the woman was right about her clothes (she was wearing denim herself), but as she looked through the pile she found a distinct lack of a coat. There was some kind of sweater that should cover her back well enough, though.

She looked back at Martha and gave a smile. "Thanks. Is there a room I could go to change?" Martha nodded at her and helped her up - it was much easier to move now that her wound had been sewn up and allowed to rest, although it still stung. She could walk mostly by herself (if with a little support) now, which she was thankful for. It would probably be a lot harder if she was completely human.

Martha showed her through a hallway and into a small bathroom with some pretty garish wallpaper. She leaned her weight against the sink and nodded in thanks to Martha, who promptly left the room. After locking the door, she began to peel her dirty, partially blood covered clothes away from her body, starting with her jacket. She looked in the mirror in front of her.

Wow. She looked like total shit. Her normally champagne skin was marred with dark circles under her eyes and an overall paleness that wasn't characteristic of her rosy face. Even her pale violet eyes were dull and red-rimmed from crying, and her dark strawberry hair was more greasy than she would have liked.

However, what would have stood out to most people, especially in this pre-space Earth, were three small sets of lavender dragonfly wings that lay between her shoulders. The largest were about the length of her forearm, and came to a gradual point. The others were much smaller, about the size of her hand. Her brother had the same wings, though they were larger than hers and golden in color. She closed her eyes and let herself move the small wings, allowing them to flutter freely for a while. They were stiff from hiding underneath the grungy overcoat she had grabbed on the ship. It was dangerous for them to be seen.

She sighed and splashed cold water onto her face, knowing that at least in this time period there wasn't a danger to her, at least on Earth. There were no people to looking to exploit her abilities or hunt her down for sport. It was kind of relaxing not having to be on guard constantly.

After shrugging on the purple sweater and a rather short white skirt, and making sure to double check that her insect-like wings were laying flat, she walked back out into the rest of the house, simply leaning against the wall for the support she needed. Anthea hoped that she could get out of here soon... she needed to get back to the ship and get to Darius. If he was still alive - which she hoped to god that he was - he would be in bad shape. She needed to help him.

Who knows what happened to him.

She plopped back down onto the couch and played with the hem of her shirt, unsure what to do now. Normally she would be on outernet looking for some good finds, but this was pre-space Earth... maybe they had books she could read.

However, before she could utter a word to ask, the Doctor came rushing into the room with a large stack of pancakes. That would explain the sweet smell from earlier. He set the plate down in front of her on the coffee table, presenting another plate and some silverware seemingly out of nowhere next to it. He grinned widely at her.

"Eat up! Time travel without a vessel wreaks havoc on the body." He sat down next to her and pulled some off of the stack for himself. "The carbs will help you recover."

She eyed him warily, and then the pancakes. She reached out and took some for herself, even if she hated needing the help with something as simple a food, but she was actually _really_ hungry, so despite herself she ate. They were delicious - light, fluffy and not too sweet. Much better than Darius could do, although she would never tell that to his face. She loved his cooking, and it sure beat anything she could make, but this was something else entirely.

She looked at him surprise and gave a small smile, swallowing before speaking. "This is really good. I can't even make rice right." She gave a small chuckle, even if it was forced.

"Thank you! I studied in eighteenth century Paris, actually. Absolutely lovely place honestly. Some of the best food on Earth." He smiled at her again, and she found it was infectious, making her smile more genuinely. Such a positive grin could not be ignored.

She nodded and brushed loose hair out of her face. "I've heard. Never had time to leave the Terminus Market to see it, though. Earth food is really interesting. Have you ever had Rothian whisky? It's not exactly from here but for some reason this is one of the only places I can find it." She didn't mention that the first time she had drank it was when she had snuck it from the top shelf in the kitchen. She was thirteen, and the strong alcohol had been too much for her preteen body. She had finished one glass and then fallen asleep. She had been a curious child.

He looked away from her for a moment, seeming to remember something, before laughing. It was a deep but light laugh. "Oh, I've had it. Got me into trouble with the King of Noestia, too. Not allowed there anymore." Anthea's eyebrows shot up at him, curious.

"What?" She laughed earnestly, looking at him in surprise. How could this scrawny guy get banned from an entire planet? "That's ridiculous."

"No, no, it's true! There was a coronation party and I may have had a bit too much to drink and I may have accidentally lit the young king on fire."

"No way!" She would have banned him too if that had happened to her! "That's horrible." She put her face in her hands, both cringing at the incident and laughing at the man's antics. Maybe she wouldn't mind being here so much, after all, if she had him and Martha to keep her company.


	4. Chapter 4

A/N: My Brother came home from college! I'm so happy guys you have no idea. Sorry I didn't upload last weekend, there was a minor emergency that I needed to help out with and I wasn't able to finish the chapter. But here it is now, guys! Hope you enjoy it!

Chapter Four

The next time Anthea awoke from slumber, it was mid-afternoon and she was, for no apparent reason, exhausted. She had barely even finished her breakfast before she had crashed on the couch once again. What a pain; she hated missing time.

She pushed herself up and rubbed the sleep out of her eyes. Only after she tested out her stance, she carefully stood and walked to the left room, to where the Doctor had come out with breakfast. There was a faint mumble of low voices, accompanied by a light tinkling she recognized as metal on metal.

She yawned as she walked in, unable to help herself. Sitting on either side of a simple wood table were the Doctor and Martha. The woman was being fairly normal, cupping a mug of tea in her hands and talking in soft, accented tones. The Doctor, completely absorbed, was tinkering on the toaster contraption she had seen him working on last night. When the two noticed her, Martha stood up and hurried over to her, ushering her into one of the wooden seats.

"You should have called for me," She fussed, "You shouldn't be walking around on your own yet."

While Anthea knew that she was only sore, Martha didn't know that she wasn't completely human. Who was she to correct the woman? It would only draw attention to her unnecessarily. She saw the Doctor look up at his friend from behind a pair of glasses (he either looked really good, or she was lonely as hell), and shook his head at her. "Nah, she's fine. Be running by Tuesday." It was only Saturday. Anthea's head jerked up so she could look at him properly, surprised. Did he know? Would she have to run? Fight? She thought she had been careful.

Before Martha could even respond, the merchant shot up out of her chair and froze there for a second, seeing who would make the first move, eyes darting back and forth between the two. While Martha just stared at her in shock, the Doctor wore an expression of empathy, beginning to raise his hands in a calming gesture. She took a step back when Martha reached out for her, suddenly feeling cornered.

Unbeknownst to Anthea, underneath her feet had grown a bed of carnations that had not been there just a minute before, peeking through the seams of tile. The blood red of the flowers caught the Doctor's attention, and he stood slowly and pulled Martha back behind him, trying to prevent her from reaching out for their guest again.

Anthea was beyond frightened, and her instincts _screamed_ at her to run, to _go anywhere but here, you dolt, don't just stand there_! But where would she go? She didn't know anything about this place and time, how was she supposed to survive in it?

She didn't get very far into her panicked thoughts, the Doctor's warm voice drifted over to her. "It's alright, Anthea, we won't hurt you. I know it's hard to trust me on this," his voice was firm but somehow comforting, like the safety of blankets in a cold winter's night. Still, it was hard to trust. Smooth talking didn't gain her confidence. "We don't want to hurt you. Martha comes from the two thousands, and doesn't even know about what you are, okay? And I am certainly against killing for profit."

Anthea just stared at him, skeptical. "How did you know?" She could hear her voice waver, but she didn't care. In response the Doctor nodded to the ground where the carnations lay. Anthea cursed. She just _had_ to get scared, didn't she? She had gotten too comfortable! She was normally so in control, but in her sleepy haze combined with her panic, the flowers had grown around her. Now was not the time for this!

The Doctor looked at her panicked expression and tried to look as non threatening as possible, hoping she wouldn't run off. "Those flowers grew through the tile, and you're walking more steadily now than any human possibly could the day after an injury like yours. There's only a few species in the universe I've seen that can do that. You're a Seraphim." He reached out a hand for her, but she hesitated. "I know it must be hard to trust me because of how many people have tried to harm you, but please, let me show you I'm telling the truth. I want to help."

"Why? How?" She stuttered out, shocked. Everyone who figured out what she was tried to kill her - she just couldn't understand him. She was more useful for gene therapies than anything else - valuable, ability-giving gene therapies no less. What was the benefit of leaving her be?

"I'm not human either." He started again, looking her in the eyes, the firm reassurance of his voice once again tempting her to believe him. "I have strong mental capabilities, and I can let you see that I'm telling the truth. I know what it's like to be locked up and studied, and I have no interest of letting that happen to you." His hand was still held out for her, and Martha looked as confused as ever. She hadn't seen them with any weapons, and they had even helped her... no one had done that for her but her family. She really shouldn't trust them, she had no proof of their intentions, but he was offering to show her. She really shouldn't...

She took his hand and stepped forward. "How is this going to work?" Her voice sounded like she had spent the previous day screaming at some cheesy boyband, hoarse and wavering, and even though the Doctor held her right hand firm, it still shook from adrenaline pumping through her system. Oh, how she still wanted to run. How embarrassing.

"I'm just going to place my forehead against yours, and I'm going to let you see into some of my thoughts, alright? Just right now, in this moment, so you can know that I'm telling you the truth. I even knew a Seraphim once, a long time ago. I can show you that I helped her, if you want." He gave her a small smile and she nodded her head, determined.

"My mom..." Anthea paused, trying not to tear up at the mention of her mother. "She used to do something like that. She could manipulate auras to share thoughts." Anthea smiled back at him, a still shaken. That bit of information gave her a small comfort, though. She was familiar with something here, at least, although her mom's ability probably worked differently. People can't lie to their own thoughts.

They both sat down at the table again, Anthea landing harder than she would have preferred with a resounding _thud_. "Martha," The Doctor began, "I'll explain this all later, but if you could give us a few minutes." Anthea watched as the other woman inched her way out of the room, a peculiar expression on her face. Anthea looked away, embarrassed. _Nice way to confuse your host, dumbass._ The Doctor looked back to her. "Are you ready?"

She took a deep breath. Her mother used to do shit like this all the time when bartering so she knew she wasn't getting screwed. Anthea could do this, no problem. Definitely. For sure. After shaking out her hands a bit to hopefully get rid of excess nerves, she nodded. "Yeah. I'm good."

The Doctor leaned in and rested his forehead against hers gently. She barely had anytime to flush at all before she began to feel a rush of emotions and thoughts that weren't hers. She could feel _everything_. The truth and concern inside his head. How he had saved others of her kind before he even met her. She even saw a snowy planet - a dinner with someone; whoever it was seemed happy. She was had large, beautiful wings that glittered in the light like snow.

She could tell he was telling her the truth. It wasn't a guess, it was as certain as if she had thought it herself. She was safe. She wasn't in danger, not here. Not with the Doctor here. He helped people. She could feel the need to save, to help. She didn't need to worry.

He pulled away from her at gave her a slight smile. She just looked at him with wide eyes, mouth slightly open in surprise. That was... strange, but somehow exhilarating. She was so at peace, but at the same time she could feel her insides brimming with energy. She had to take a breath. "Thank you for sharing that..." Her voice was soft but not scared - not anymore. "Who was that woman? She was beautiful."

He looked off to the side, looking a bit lost in his memories before they refocused on her. "She was an old friend. I met her while on a trip to a planet called Hal, where it's winter all year round. She was there building an ice house with just her ability. It was an incredible thing to see."

Anthea looked down at the carnations she had made just minutes before, her face flushing. "My ability is phytokinesis..." She drifted off with small sigh, "I grow plants." She wasn't an especially big fan of her ability, though it did have its uses for a life support system.

"Oh, it's lovely. You said you lived on a ship? I'm sure it livens up the place." He paused and looked at Anthea again, before standing and gesturing to the sitting room. "C'mon. Why don't you tell us what happened to you. Martha could use an explanation." She followed him into the room, leaving the flower-infested kitchen behind.

Martha was sitting in one of the armchairs across the way from her, fidgeting and nervous. Anthea wondered if she looked like that earlier. As soon as they entered the room, the woman 's gaze locked onto them and started asking questions, but the Doctor managed to calm her down for the moment, if only so they could all get settled.

Then they were all just sitting down, and they even had tea, with a blanket wrapped around Anthea's shoulders to make her feel more comfortable. She always found them to be comforting. Although, the Doctor and Martha seemed to be waiting for her to start talking, an awkward silence hanging over the three wayward time travelers. She didn't really want to divulge information about her past. It wasn't that she had a shady past, it was just... painful to bring up some of these old memories. but these people were being so generous, she felt obligated. They should know more about the person they're letting into their home. She sighed and set her tea onto the table.

"Where do I start..."


End file.
